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Admin Committee Minutes 2003 08-14-03 Page 1 of 9 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE Approved with ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING Corrections THURSDAY, AUGUST 2003 October 9, 2003 6:30 P.M. In Attendance: Alderwoman Spears — Chairman Alderwoman Burd Alderman Munns (arrived 7:00) City Treasurer Powell Mayor Art Prochaska City Administrator Graff Police Chief Martin Finance Director Pleckham OLD BUSINESS APPROVAL /CORRECTION OF MINUTES After a lengthy review of the minutes the following were approved with revisions; March 13, 2003, April 10, 2003, May 8, 2003 and June 12, 2003. REVIEW PLANNING COORDINATOR'S FEES SPREADSHEET The Committee reviewed the Development Coordinator's Monthly Report for July 2003. Alderwoman Spears noted that at a previous Administration Committee meeting it was discussed to clarify with the City Attorney if she could bill the city. Administrator Graff stated that Attorney Kramer clarified that if the administration hours are directly related to meeting with City staff, she can bill for these services. Any time working directly with developers will be charged to them. Out of 49.75 total hours, 5.25 were administration. This report will be reviewed monthly by the Committee. Treasurer Powell asked if he could observe a meeting between developers and the Development Coordinator Anna. Kurtzman sometime in October. Administrator Graff stated he would arrange this. I WATER BILLING ACCOUNTS DUE — UPDATE a. MONTHLY BILLING The Committee reviewed the accounts due list. Alderwoman Spears asked what the procedure was for those residents that did not pickup their certified letter from the City. Administrator Graff stated that the accounts on the list that had not picked up their letter were still being billed however their meters were stuck and the bill was an estimate. The estimate is escalated to get their attention. As a side note, Mayor Prochaska reported an incident where a water heater broke in a vacant house and now the owner has a $1,000.00 water bill. The residents asked if there was a payment policy for a hardship such as this. The Committee discussed that the Yorkville - Bristol Sanitary District (YBSD) charge is based on the flow of water so a sizeable portion of the bill is the YBSD charge. The water went down the drain that does Page 2 of 9 not go into the sanitary sewer. The staff has discussed asking YBSD to waive their portion of the fee. Mayor Prochaska suggested developing a policy that if a resident can show it was an accident not negligence, the bill would be capped. Treasurer Powell suggested a fee of 50% of the bill or $500.00 whichever is less. Administrator Graff stated he would discuss a policy with Attorney Kramer. The Committee discussed contacting the resident regarding on a payment program and advising them that the City Attorney is looking at a policy regarding this which may be taken into consideration. The resident should also be advised to contact YBSD regarding their portion of the bill. b. YBSD ORDINANCE Treasurer Powell asked why the city was paying YBSD $50,000.00. Administrator Graff explained that the fee was being paid by the sanitary sewer connection fee. The City wants the area covered by the North Rob Roy Creek corridor in the city limits. The city is allowing developers to front their fees to be used toward the Facility Planning Area (FPA) expansion. Mayor Prochaska commented that he would like to see paragraph #3 on page 2 read "...that have the petitioned the DISTRICT and CITY for annexation...." He asked to have Attorney Kramer review the agreement. Alderwoman Spears asked if the city had to use YBSD's engineers. Administrator Graff stated that for the FPA the city needed to use YBSD's engineers. This item was sent to the August 19, 2003 Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting pending legal review. WATER BILLING /ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE - UPDATE Alderwoman Spears stated that she spoke with the staff about their concerns with the new water billing software. She was unable to reach Finance Director Pleckham so she asked them to address these in a memo. Staff advised Alderwoman Spears that Finance Director Pleckham had addressed areas of concern in an August 5, 2003 memo to Richard Plese of Municipal Software, Inc. (MSI). They discussed some of the concerns noted such as the billing time frame, billing addresses, closing accounts, the number of screens needed to access an account, etc. Administrator Graff stated that these are not uncommon problems for a conversion and MSI is addressing the problems. Treasurer Powell noted that in response to Mrs. Pleckham's letter, MSI is providing 12 hours of training and rebating $1,200.00 software service agreement fee. The Committee discussed that the city received the upgraded 3.0 version of the software. This software was tested however Yorkville was one of the first to use it. The problems are version related. Alderwoman Spears asked if any cross training was being done by the staff and Mrs. Pleckham stated that was the goal. Page 3 of 9 Alderwoman Spears asked the Committee continue to be updated. NEW ENTRY WAY SIGN Mayor Prochaska noted that the lettering has been made larger and the background has been lightened. He stated that the budget needed to be reviewed for signs and Mrs. Pleckham stated that $$3,500.00 is in the budget for signs. The Committee approved ordering the signs. WEB SITE UPDATE Mrs. Pleckham stated that Andy from Weblinx has all the updates needed for the web site. The goal is to have the web site up and running by the end of the month. Alderwoman Burd commented that it has taken a long time to get this done. Mrs. Pleckham stated that the delay is due to the city's delay in getting the information to Andy. The Committee discussed a T1 line, email for city personnel and elected officials, staff training, the tech plan and lap tops for the aldermen. Alderwoman Spears asked that the Committee be updated again next month. i PROJECT FINANCIAL TRACKING WORKSHEET Treasurer Powell complimented the document saying it tells how much the city got paid however it does not indicate what percentage of the total has been collected. This information could be used for long range planning. If a percentage was known, a projection could be made as to how much will be collected over a certain period of time. Administrator Graff stated that it may be possible to extract this information from an MSI report. Finance Director Traci Pleckham stated she would check to see if the software could do this. This item will be brought back to the Committee in September. MEETING MINUTE RECORDERS — UPDATE Alderwoman Spears reported that City Clerk Milschewski researched minute taking procedures with other communities and a professional minute taking service as to how they handle their meeting minutes. She also noted that minute takers are presently needed. The Committee discussed contacting journalism departments at nearby colleges to see if they would be interested in an intern program or if they knew of any students interested in taking minutes. Another suggestion was to approach individuals who have applied for other positions in the city to see if they would be interested. It was also suggested to check with Waubansee Community College's office career program. The Committee discussed increasing the pay of the minute takers from $30.00/2 hour meeting to $35.00/2 hour meeting; increasing the rate for the time over two hours from $12.50/hour to $17.50/hour and the transcription time will remain at $10.00/hour Page 4 of 9 however it will based on the length of the meeting. Transcription time will be double the meeting i.e. if a meeting is two hours long, the minute taker will get four hours of transcription time or $40.00. The Committee agreed to increase the pay, The recommended increase will be sent to the August 19, 2003 COW meeting for consideration. ADMINISTRATION OFFICE STAFF — UPDATE Administrator Graff reported that Mary Mizera has been temporarily working full -time as receptionist without any benefits. He stated that it is working well with her being full - time and he recommended that she be kept on as full-time. He stated that Mrs. Mizera is interested in the position full -time. The position could be supported by combining the two part-time salaries. He stated that he needed to have Finance Director Pleckham check out benefits and how to budget it. Alderwoman Spears stated that a few years ago benefits were $10,000.00 to $12,000.00 /year for each full -time employee. Mayor Prochaska stated that in the past it has been hard to find people interested in part-time. Administrator Graff stated that the city's part-time receptionist position has been someone working Monday, Tuesday and V2 day Wednesday and the other working the remainder of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Alderwoman Spears noted that the Police Department just received quite a few applications for their part-time position and she did not feel filling this position would be a problem in this economy. The Committee also discussed changing the hours to every day for V2 the day. Also discussed was the hiring of a Permit Clerk for the Building Dept. This person will be hired by Bill Dettmer to work the front desk at the lower level and to handle building permits. Mr. Dettmer has asked if the city would like to share the cost of this individual. Mayor Prochaska stated that he did not feel the Building Department and the city should share employees. Mr. Graff stated that the employee would be the Building Dept.'s employee however the city would help reimburse the cost. He explained to Mr. Dettmer that this would have to be negotiated in the ICCI contract with the city. Mayor Prochaska suggested having Mr. Dettmer submit a proposal for this. Alderwoman Spears stated that she would like to see the receptionist position stay as part-time. This would save the city money which could be used toward another position. Alderwoman Burd was concerned that the city would loose Mrs. Mizera. Mr. Graff stated that she was aware that the full -time position was temporary and ultimately the city would need a full-time receptionist. He suggested that if the receptionist position is kept as part-time he suggested still having a part-time Office Assistant once Jennifer Woodrick goes full -time as Engineering Assistant. The Office Assistant would assist the Clerk's Office, City Collector and back -up the receptionist desk. Alderwoman Spears suggested that the employees fill out a daily log for one month. These will be reviewed to see where work needs to be relocated. The Committee discussed advertising for the receptionist versus using the applicants from the Police Department. Mr. Graff stated that he spoke with Labor Attorney Rodgers who instructed him how to approach the PD applicants. Page 5 of 9 The Committee denied the request for a full-time receptionist and recommended that the part -time position be split between mornings and afternoons. NEW BUSINESS OFFICE ETIQUETTE Alderman Mums noted that the voice message on the phones needs to be changed as it was recorded by a person no longer with the city. Also, Alderwoman Burd discussed the need for the staff to work on telephone etiquette. She stated that she has called City Hall and the person answering the phone has not stated her name. Administrator Graff stated he would discuss this with the staff. ORGANIZATIONAL CHART A draft of the chart was presented and the Committee reviewed it. However the Committee recommended that this item be brought back after the employees do a time study. This item will be brought back to the Committee in October. ADDITIONAL OLD BUSINESS OFFICE FURNITURE — RESULT OF BID OPENING Administrator Graff reported that the bids had been opened and the low bid was $55,163.11 from Rakow in Dundee, Illinois. The overall budget for furniture was $60,000.00 - $80,000.00. The bid was based on quantities needed and is not based on the city buying the furniture all at once. Some of the existing furniture will still be used and some will be used in other areas of the city such as Parks and Public Works. He estimated that 80% of the lower level will have new furniture however it may not all be bought at this time. Most of the furniture ordered is standard and should be available for about a year however workstations are more likely to change in that time period. The Committee recommended that the bid, not to exceed $55,163.11 be moved on to the August 19, 2003 COW meeting agenda. ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM — UPDATE This item was approved by the Public Works Committee. It is now time to get the financing in order. A total of $3.6 million is needed. $40,000 is needed for the Phase I — Engineering Design which when done will allow for a better overall estimate. The funds for Phase I are available in the city's General Fund Contingency. City Engineer Joe Wywrot will get a contract from Smith Engineering for the engineering to move forward. This item will move on to the September 2, 2003 COW pending the receipt of a contract from Smith Engineering and its review by the Public Works Committee. Page 6 of 9 LAND CASH RECONCILIATION Mrs. Pleckham reported that this item was an update from a previous meeting and she advised the Committee that she reconciled the Parks Land Cash funds through July. She went through the Budget Report and made sure that through the permit process each permit for each subdivision had the correct Land Cash allocated to it. ADDITIONAL NEW BUSINESS RESOLUTION — COUNCIL MEMBERS TELEPHONE/E- VOTE WHEN OUT OF TOWN OR ILL Alderwoman Spears reported that she spoke with City Attorney Dan Kramer regarding Council members voting when they are out -of -town or ill. He advised her that this can be done but a resolution has to be passed to authorize this. The absent Council member can call in their vote. Administrator Graff stated that there is a provision of the law that states that when the agenda goes out, the members who will be absent have to be identified on the agenda so the public knows the Council member won't be at the meeting. The Committee discussed how the phone -in vote will work. Mr. Graff will ask Attorney Kramer to draft a resolution and it will be brought back to the Committee in September. POLICY — EMPLOYEES ATTENDING OUT -OF -STATE MEETINGS /SEMINARS Alderwoman Spears reported that it has been recommended to have a policy for attending out -of -state meeting /seminar. The policy would direct the staff as to when and how out - of -state meetings can be attended. The policy would indicate that seminars should be attended at the nearest location. The Committee discussed different ideas to incorporate into the policy. Mr. Graff will draft a policy and it will be brought back to the Committee in September. REVIEW OF GRANT STATUS Alderwoman Spears asked for a spread sheet showing the grants applied for, a brief description, the amount of the grant, the city match and the award notification date of grants applied for since the Grant Coordinator was hired in May 2003. Administrator Graff recommended that the date of application should also be included. Administrator Graff distributed a written report and stated that it takes several months to write a grant and apply. The Committee asked if a spreadsheet could be brought back to the Committee in September. REVIEW OF DEPARTMENT HEAD PERFORMANCE EVALUATION Alderwoman Spears reported that it was suggested to her that the entire City Council should review the Department Head Evaluation Reviews before they are sealed. This had been done in the past. Mayor Prochaska stated that this could be done at the next review process and before the budget is passed. The Committee discussed that the Council does not have any input into the review. Mayor Prochaska stated he did not have a problem Page 7 of 9 with the Committee Chair for a particular department joining in the review or helping with it. They also discussed each alderman giving the mayor a written evaluation for the department head before the evaluation. These would be discussed with the person being evaluated. Mayor Prochaska will remind the Council of this in January when he is preparing reviews. POLICY — PROCEDURES REGARDING NEW DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Alderwoman Burd recommended that it be required that developers submit all plans to the City Council such as the first plan submitted to the Plan Commission and subsequent changes. She stated that the Council should be able to see the progression of the development. The Committee discussed the development process and the legalities of the process. It was decided to discuss changing the development process with Attorney Kramer to verify if and how it could be changed. This item will be brought back to the Committee in September after discussing it with the City Attorney. GRANDE RESERVE BUDGET Administrator Graff stated that this was an informational item that will affect the budget. He went over the spread sheet for the Grande Reserve Year One Budget Requests. The spread sheet was developed after he had discussions with the Mayor and department heads regarding what will be needed in the future due to the Grande Reserve annexation. His analysis found that Grande Reserve causes the city to need additional staff such as two police officers (Council already have voted on this), one engineering assistant, one engineering tech, one public work/streets employee and Park & recreation support staff. I A Grande Reserve Year One Capital Budget Request spreadsheet was also developed which indicated the need for a pick -up truck for Engineering, a Ford Expedition for the Police Department and a dump truck with accessories for Public Works (already approved by the Council). $250,000,00 will be paid to the city 30 days after the annexation agreement is signed. This item will be back before the Committee during the revised budget in November and when the departments make the request to hire. REQUEST TO HIRE ENGINEERING ASSISTANT The Committee discussed how this position affected the budget in regards to added benefits. Also discussed was the salary range for the position. Alderwoman Spears noted that the last time this position was discussed the Committee felt that the salary range should start at $26,910.00 (the General Support Staff level) and not at the range suggested by the City Engineer. The Committee discussed the function of the position and'how it will interact with others in the department. It was discussed that applicants Page 8 of 9 will have to pass a typing test as well as a CAD ability test along with researching an appropriate CAD test. It was decided that the salary ranges need to be re- addressed. It was agreed that the Engineering Assistant should be an entry level position with the General Support Staff salary range of $26,910.00 to $41,400.00. RADIUM COMPLIANCE/WATER PROJECT ALTERNATE REVENUE BOND Finance Director Pleckham went over her August 12, 2003 memo outlining a time -table for the Alternate Revenue Bonds needed for the Radium Compliance Water Project. A $4.9 million debt certificate has already been issued and this revenue bond is for the remaining $7.9 million needed to complete the project. The bonds need to be in place before awarding the next project bid which should be done on October 28, 2003. There are two documents, the notice of intent and the authorizing ordinance, needed to move on to the Council for a vote. She also explained that there has to be a BINA hearing prior to the ordinance being voted on and the closing should be around November 10 -17, 2003. Revenue stream for the bonds have already been identified. The Committee recommended that this item move on to the August 19, 2003 COW meeting. BRUELL STREET PUMP STATION BOND BANK ORDINANCE Finance Director Pleckham reported that the funding for the Bruell Street pump station will come from the Illinois Rural Bond Bank Pooled Financing Program. She went over her August 13, 2003 memo outlining the timetable for the bond ordinance. Applicants, for the program, including Yorkville, will be approved on August 21, 2003 and the city will know on August 22, 2003 if it has been approved. There is a pledge ordinance and bond ordinance that need to be approved by the Council, once the city is approved. The bonds are for a $2 million debt certificate and the funds for this bond are coming from sewer connection fees. This bond issue should save the city anywhere from $60,000.00 to $80,000.00. The Committee recommended that this item move on to the August 19, 2003 COW meeting. SNOW BIRD POLICY The Committee went over the 2002 -2003 Snow Bird Policy and suggested a few corrections. Finance Director Pleckham noted that the Yorkville- Bristol Sanitary District (YBSD) fee will not be waived even though the water will be turned off. Treasurer Powell suggested having the form available on the website once it is approved. The Committee recommended that a corrected copy of the policy be sent to the August 19, 2003 COW meeting. Page 9 of 9 ADDITIONAL BUSINESS Sewer Backup Mayor Prochaska brought up a situation where a resident of Naden Court had a sewer backup. Insurance is not going to pay for the damages however the backup was caused by a clog in a city sewer main. He noted that historically the city has paid for damages however there is no policy addressing this. Director of Public Works Eric Dhuse has seen the damages and feel the resident is being reasonable. Mr. Dhuse called in Service Master to clean and this cost $1,400.00. This was paid for by the insurance. The resident is claiming an additional $5,500.00 in damages. Mayor Prochaska asked the Committee for permission to work with the resident to resolve the issue. The Committee agreed that Attorney Kramer should proceed with resolving the situation. Vehicle Policy Mayor Prochaska distributed a draft of a Vehicle Policy and asked the Committee to review it and discuss it at the next Committee meeting. Moser SSA Finance Director Pleckham reported that MPI's annexation agreement allows for a Special Service Area (SSA) and they are looking to do this. The resolution of intent will be discussed at the August 19, 2003 COW meeting. Executive Session for Discussing Former Personnel Alderwoman Burd requested an Executive Session in the future to discuss how a matter with a former employee was resolved. Mayor Prochaska stated he would verify with the City Attorney if this can be done and if not he would ask Attorney Kramer to do a confidential memo to the Council. Intern Evaluation Alderwoman Spears suggested having interns to the city evaluate the city, staff, etc. Mrs. Pleckham stated that Bart had to write a paper on his internship with the city and she stated that she would ask him for a copy for the Council. Suggestion Bog Alderwoman Spears suggested a Suggestion Box for the staff to use. She felt that the suggestions could be read by the Mayor and/or Council. There was no further additional business so the meeting adjourned at 11:20 P.M. Minutes respectfully submitted by: Jackie Milschewski City Clerk